H-1B Master’s Cap Approaches Exhaustion (Numbers as of 04/21/2007)
H-1B Advanced Degree Exemption<O
></O>
The H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004, which took effect on May 5, 2005, changed the H-1B filing procedures for FY 2005 and for future fiscal years. The H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004 also makes available 20,000 new H-1B visas for foreign workers with a Master’s or higher level degree from a U.S. academic institution.<O></O>
| Cap | Beneficiaries Approved | Beneficiaries Pending Petitions Receipted | Beneficiaries Pending Petitions yet to be Receipted | Total | Date of Last Count |
H-1B (FY 08) | 58,200 1 | —— | —— | —— | Cap Reached | 4/2/2007 |
H-1B Advanced Degree Exemption (FY 08) | 20,000 | 7,339 | 7,801 | 3,509 | 18,649 | 4/21/2007 |
Cap Count for Non-Immigrant Worker Visas for Fiscal Year 2008 as of 04/19/2007
|
|
Cap |
Beneficiaries Approved |
Beneficiaries Pending Petitions Receipted |
Beneficiaries Pending Petitions yet to be Receipted |
Total |
Date of Last Count |
|
H-1B (FY 08) |
58,200 1 |
—— |
—— |
—— |
Cap Reached |
4/2/2007 |
|
H-1B Advanced Degree Exemption (FY 08) |
20,000 |
5,097 |
4,855 |
7,035 |
16,987 |
4/16/2007 |
Update: Cap Subject H-1B Computerized Random Selection is being run on 04/12/2007
VIA AILA
USCIS Associate Director for Domestic Operations Michael Aytes informed members attending the AILA Texas Chapter Conference in Las Vegas that the H-1B random number generator is being run on April 12, 2007.
What About Premium Processing H-1Bs? (Updated 4/4/07) – Via AILA
04/04/2007
VIA The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
Many AILA members report having received receipts
on their premium processing H-1B filings, and have raised the question
of how USCIS will handle premium processing filings in light of the
length of time it is likely to take USCIS to conduct its random
selection for the cap cases. It is highly unlikely that the selection
will be completed before the 15 days for premium processing has run,
and USCIS appears to understand that a premium processing filing cannot
receive an advantage over a regular filing by virtue of having been
filed premium. It should be noted that getting a receipt does not mean
that the case has been accepted for processing. It only means that the
case will be in the “lottery”.
AILA has raised this with USCIS, which is reviewing the issue.
Getting the LCA In Hand Before April 1 – Submit your completed H-1B petition for delivery on April 2nd 2007
VIA AILA
Because you cannot submit an LCA earlier than six
months prior to the beginning date of the period of intended employment
(20 CFR § 655.730(b)), if you want your LCA in hand before April 1,
then set your employment start date on the LCA for a date in September,
and set the expiration date for a date no more than three years hence.
File the I-129 with a start date of October 1, but with an expiration
date that coincides with the expiration date of the LCA. You will lose
a couple of days on the back end of the petition by doing this, but you
will get the LCA filed and back before April 1.
Example:
LCA start date: 9/1/07
LCA end date: 8/31/10
Form I-129 start date: 10/1/07
Form I-129 end date: 8/31/10
USCIS Transfers I-485s to NSC and TSC
VIA AILA
AILA’s Service Center Operations (SCOPS) Liaison Committee reports that
in anticipation of the next phase of Bi-Specialization, I-485
applications are being transferred from CSC to NSC, and from VSC to
TSC. This includes cases that are subject to visa retrogression and
security/background checks. Transfer notices will be sent and the USCIS
online system will be updated when a transfer occurs. SCOPS has
confirmed that transferred cases will go into the queue based on
original filing date and not the date of the transfer.
E Visa Consular Processing in Italy
Via AILA
The Department of State informed AILA’s DOS Liaison Committee that consular posts in Italy have decided to consolidate E visa processing in Rome and Milan, effective Jan 1, 2007. E visa applicants in the Florence and Naples consular districts will be asked to apply in Rome, but may also apply in Milan providing they are residents, or are physically present in Italy.
Important USCIS Memo Clarifies Periods of Admission for H and L Nonimmigrants
Via AILA
12/21/2006
A December 5, 2006 memo from Michael Aytes, USCIS Associate Director, Domestic Operations, provides guidance on the period of admission for H-4s and L-2s, applicants for H-1B status beyond the six-year maximum, and for H-1Bs who have been out of the U.S. for more than 1 year, but were not in H-1B status for a full 6 years. The memo clarifies that time spent in H-4 or L-2 status does not count against the maximum allowable period of stay available to principals in H-1B and L-1 status, and that qualifying H-1B aliens need not be in H-1B status when requesting an extension beyond the six-year maximum. Revisions to Chapters 31.2(d), 31.3(g) and 32.6 of the Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM Update 06-29) are included in the memo.
American Immigration Lawyers Association’s 2006 Election Analysis
Via AILA
11/08/2006
Mid-term election races are typically suffused
with a blend of local and national issues and concerns. As a result,
analyzing the election outcomes through the lens of a single issue
often presents difficulties. To some degree, however, this year
represents an exception with regard to a central AILA issue:
immigration reform. A number of House, Senate (and Governor)
immigration hard-liners tried to make illegal immigration a wedge
electoral issue. The election results highlight how badly their gambit
fared.
The rigid, impractical position on undocumented immigration set
forth by hard-liners failed both generally (as it faded down the list
of top national voter issues) and specifically (as high profile
candidates who tried to leverage their hard-line approach into a wedge
issue lost a majority of races). We take heart from the following
specific election results:
House Races:
J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ), one of the most vocal “seal the border, repel
the hordes” hard-liners lost his re-election bid (46-51%) in Arizona
(5th), a district he won by 21% two years ago!
Minuteman Randy Graf (R) lost his bid to replace Jim Kolbe in
Arizona’s 8th District by an overwhelming margin (42-54%). He ran on
his hard-line views against Democratic opponent Gabrielle Giffords, who
supports comprehensive reform along the lines of the Senate-passed
comprehensive bill. The national elections gave truth to Graf’s recent
observation along the lines of: “If this issue doesn’t play well in
this district, it won’t play well anywhere in the country.”
John Hostettler (R-IN) also lost resoundingly, taking only 39% of
the vote in Indiana’s 8th District. Hostettler was one of the most
high-profile hard-liners in the House. He has been the Chairman of the
House Immigration Subcommittee and led a number of the summer hearings.
Bruce Braley (D) defeated Mike Whalen (R) in an open seat in Iowa’s
1st District. Whalen ran on a hard-line, pro-H.R. 4437 platform and
accused his opponent of supporting amnesty.
In Colorado’s 7th District, Ed Perlmutter (D) beat Rick O’Donnell
(54-42%) for Representative Beauprez’s open seat, despite O’Donnell’s
attacks on Perlmutter as a supporter of amnesty.
Melissa Hart (R-PA), a member of the House Immigration Subcommittee,
who had been a staunch supporter of H.R. 4437 and a committed opponent
of comprehensive reform, also lost her reelection bid.
Key Senate Races:
Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) lost by a huge margin (41-59%).
Santorum had pounded his opponent, Democratic challenger Bob Casey, on
Casey’s support for comprehensive immigration reform in debates and
with inflammatory advertisements.
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) prevailed (53-45%) over his challenger,
Tom Kean, who strongly opposed comprehensive immigration reform.
Senator Menendez has the distinction of being the only Member of
Congress to both vote against H.R. 4437 and for S. 2611!
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) easily fought back (60-38%) a challenger,
Katherine Harris, who unsuccessfully attempted to leverage Nelson’s
support for comprehensive reform into a wedge issue.
Senator Carper (D-DE) resoundingly defeated (70-29%) single-issue
restrictionist candidate, Jan Ting. Carper supported a comprehensive
solution and voted in favor of S. 2611 while Ting, a former INS
official, rejected it as “amnesty.”
Governor’s Races:
In Arizona, Democrat Janet Napolitano handily beat (63-35%) her
Republican challenger Len Munsil. Napolitano has been in the vanguard
of governors supporting a realistic, comprehensive solution to our
immigration problems.
In Colorado, Democrat Bill Ritter defeated (56-41%) hard-liner
Republican Bob Beauprez, who had vacated his U.S. House seat for a run
at the governor’s mansion. As a Member of the House, Beauprez voted
against AILA’s position on virtually every issue and attempted to
leverage his hard-line stance on immigration into a winning electoral
strategy in his gubernatorial bid.
Overall Picture:
The final results in the House look like this: Democrats took
control by a 230-205 margin, winning 12 more seats than they needed to
gain control. The final Senate results are not in yet. Democrats gained
at least 5 Senate seats, with the results of the Virginia Senate
election still outstanding. Currently, Democrat Jim Webb appears to
have a slight lead over Republican incumbent George Allen, but a
recount of the Virginia race will probably be necessary because of the
razor-thin margins. If Webb wins the Virginia seat, Democrats will
control the Senate by a 51-49 margin (including two independents who
will caucus with them). If Allen is re-elected, the Senate will be
split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, but Republicans will
maintain their majority, since Vice President Cheney, as President of
the Senate, casts the tie-breaking vote.
While these results will mean positive changes in leadership in the
House (and possibly the Senate) on immigration issues, they by no means
signify that it will be easy to obtain positive and comprehensive
immigration reform through the Congress in the coming two years. We
lost two Republican moderates in the Senate who had strongly supported
comprehensive immigration reform–Senators DeWine (OH) and Chafee (RI)
– and 60 votes will be needed to pass any controversial legislation. In
the House, many of the victors are conservative Democrats, and the
looming 2008 presidential election will mean that both parties will be
“tacking” strongly to the center. Please see Fareed Zakaria’s article
in the November 13 issue of Newsweek
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15566722/site/newsweek/from/ET/) for a
good analysis of the prospects for immigration reform in the new
Congress.
We hope that both parties will take seriously the fact that
immigration restrictionists lost badly yesterday. We will also be
looking at some of the close races to determine the strength of the
Latino vote.
We will be working very hard to try to get some meaningful H and EB
relief next week during the potentially short “lame duck” session. It
is not yet clear whether Congress will actually try to pass any
appropriations bills or whether they will merely pass a “continuing
resolution” and leave the legislating until 2007. We will keep you
posted.
Service Center Processing Time Reports as of October 30, 2006
Service Center Processing Time Reports as of October 30, 2006
Links go to PDFs
Texas Service Center Processing Time Report (10/30/06)
Nebraska Service Center Processing Time Report (10/30/06)
National Benefits Center Processing Time Report (10/30/06)
California Service Center Processing Time Report (10/30/06)
Vermont Service Center Processing Time Report (10/30/06)
USCIS Is Changing Its Website
Via AILA
10/30/2006
USCIS has advised that it is updating and upgrading its website, and
that the new site will be launched in the very near future. It is
expected that any existing links to the site will break at that time.
It is not clear if users will be forwarded to the new pages, or if the
links will become dead. If you maintain a website that links to the
USCIS site, you may need to update your links once the new site is
launched.
DOL to Notify Attorneys of Each Stage in the E-mail Sponsorship Verification Process
VIA AILA
As requested by the AILA-DOL Liaison Committee, beginning October 20, 2006,
DOL will notify attorneys of each stage in the e-mail sponsorship verification
process. Attorneys will receive a copy of an email to the employer confirming
that the case has been filed, a copy of the sponsorship check email and a copy
of an acknowledgement that the employer has responded to the sponsorship check.
The U.S. Immigration Law Blog by Ashwin Sharma 
H-1B Quota Exceeded On First Day of Filing, AILA Issues Response
April 3, 2007
VIA AILA.ORG
CONTACT: George Tzamaras
202-216-2410
WASHINGTON, DC, April 3 – Illustrating the inadequacy of the quota
for specialized H-1B workers, USCIS announced today that it received
more applications than the 65,000 limit on April 2. April 2 was the
first day on which an employer could request a first-time visa for an
H-1B worker for the period that begins on October 1, 2007. Agency rules
state that if the limit is reached on the first day of filing, all
applications received on the first two days are put into a lottery to
determine who gets the relatively few visas that are available.
In the fiscal year now in effect, the supply of such visas lasted
less than eight weeks after the filing period opened. For the fiscal
year that starts October 1, 2007, the supply did not last through even
the first day. “Every year, the application window becomes shorter and
shorter, to the point that it is now practically non-existent,” said
Carlina Tapia-Ruano, President of the American Immigration Lawyers
Association. “These high-skilled workers help to keep our system
dynamic, and many sectors of the economy will suffer from this
shortage.”
The H-1B visa program is utilized by U.S. businesses and other
organizations to augment the existing labor force with foreign workers
in specialty occupations that require expertise in a specialized field.
Typical H-1B occupations include scientists, architects, engineers,
computer programmers, teachers, accountants, and doctors. H-1B workers
are admitted to the United States for an initial period of three years,
which may be extended for an additional three years.
“This absurd situation illustrates the disconnect between current
immigration policy and the needs of our economy,” concluded
Tapia-Ruano. “The best way to resolve this crisis is for Congress to
pass a comprehensive immigration reform measure as soon as possible.”
The American Immigration Lawyers Association is the national
association of immigration lawyers established to promote justice,
advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, advance
the quality of immigration and nationality law and practice, and
enhance the professional development of its members.
For more information contact George Tzamaras at 202-216-2410 or Brooke Hewson at 202-216-2435